Recent research by ABN and CBS reveals what many HR managers and recruiters have long known; it’s fighting in the market for people. Especially good people. With the disruptive dynamics of Corona on the office floor and remote working, employers face new challenges to attract and retain staff. Where staff is already scarce, talent is even scarcer.

Everything is pulled out of the closet to attract and keep top talent. Where once you could keep the frogs in the wheelbarrow with a fixed contract and a leased car, nowadays you are in doubt whether to send a regular masseur to the home office.

HR managers who bury their heads in the sand and try to remain aloof from this crisis are even called “tightness deniers,” BNR radio reported last Monday who had read the Werf& website.

The water is at our lips, so it will be pump or sink to remain relevant to the workforce with potential in this competitive job market. The War for Talent has arrived!

Since the urgency is so high and the headlines are not sparing with the war rhetoric, I suggest we stay in this vein. For, what do we mean by War for Talent?

The concept was first introduced by McKinsey & Company back in the 1990s. A summary term to describe the increased competition in recruiting and retaining talent. With the advent of the Internet, the job market became increasingly dynamic and a battle developed around attracting talented workers. Those were the good old days when you could still stunt with a permanent contract and group health insurance….

So over the years, attracting and retaining talent has been high on the corporate agenda more often than not. But with today’s urgency, an unprecedented battle awaits. So Talent Manager; put on your helmet and win this war with the following 4 missions:

Mission 1: Invest in a strong fortress

A well-functioning office with the right facilities should not be underestimated, this is the basic need of all staff. With hybrid working on the doorstep, it is important to think carefully about the design of the office (climate) in combination with a pleasant home working situation.

The benefits of working from home for employer and employee are clear; we work just as hard – if not harder – without sitting in traffic jams or listening to that boring colleague’s lame weekend stories. But now that offices, in modified form, are slowly reopening, it is important to set up this new “hybrid” work properly from the start. If not, there is a risk that a rift could develop between so-called office tigers and kitchen table clerks.

Mission 2: Work on troop morale.

Every employee is your soldier in this war. Employees who are in place and feel valued are motivated and happy. Just as an army has different components (artillery, infantry, cavalry, etc.) your employees will also play different roles in your battle. Some provide a pleasant collegial atmosphere, while others can talk endlessly about the benefits of working at your organization.

A strong corporate culture built on recognizable (core) values keep employee morale high. The sense of belonging to something with which you feel connected to your personal values and those of the company is essential to the health of the organization. If your staff is happy, your talents are happy and they are less inclined to look to see if the grass is greener elsewhere.

With the new hybrid work, people are literally at an increasing distance from each other and the company. Therefore, it becomes even more important to keep the (core) values of the organization alive in new and creative ways.

Mission 3: Make sure you have enough ammunition

CFO asks CEO: “What happens if we invest in developing our people and then they leave us?” CEO: “What happens if we don’t, and they stay?”

– a familiar quote that comes by every now and then on LinkedIn. But whether action is then taken is the question.

Investing in leadership development, talent programs and employer branding feels to many a CFO like a bottomless pit with no visible return. Yet such programs bring the organization much more than just personal development for talents.

Keep these investments in your talents high on the agenda. It is the signboard both internally and externally for what your organization has to offer. A special and effectively proven investment can be by signing up your talents for a development program in nature.

“You can invest tons in developing your best talents, but as soon as they have to deal with a shitty manager who doesn’t give them the opportunities, you’ll lose them in no time!”

Mission 4: Create loyal generals

Author of the book Emotional Intelligence 2.0 and psychologist Dr. Travis Bradberry described last year thatmost employees resign not because of the job, but the boss. Among bad managers, he describes 9 elements as including; overcharging talents, lack of sensitivity and giving recognition, unreliability, promoting the poor performers and not offering enough development opportunities.

Make sure you have your managers properly lined up so they don’t fall into the above pitfalls. You can invest tons in developing your best talents, but once they have to deal with a shitty manager who doesn’t give them the opportunities, you’ll lose them in no time!

Therefore, bring senior management into conversation with the talent as well (more often). By engaging in dialogue about the issues that are important to them, they can look together at what is needed to bring out the full potential of the talent in the organization.

Your battle plan

With change the only constant, this dynamic in the job market will continue for a while. It will be a harder and harder fight with more creative means to keep the right people on board. Talents are demanding more and more from you, your managers and organization. Keep these high potentials engaged with your club. Feel empowered and armed with the above facts of arms and remember; no guts, no glory!